D O U G I E...!!! Please join me for what is yet another glorious A.O.R. moment ! Doug's superb 20 second solo on this rocking track. State the simple yet elegant and beautiful theme, repeat it an octave higher, throw in a blues lick and end with a spectacular speed lick....et voilà, c'est fini. That's all I'm asking for in a good rock solo ;-)

That first House of Lords album (supposedly discovered by that money-grubber Gene Simmons) is a real classic in the genre : roaring vocals, thunderous drums and fleet fingered guitar work = cock rock at its best !
Successors 'Sahara' and 'Demons down' were also very good especially the 'Sahara' album because it has Aldrich signature solos all over it.

For all you theory buffs out there : there is quite a lot going on in the chordal department. The chorus preceding the solo is in G major and the solo is in E natural minor so that would be a common transition to the relative minor, right ? Not quite. There's a particular reason why the solo part has such an obvious lift and a strong emotional impact and that's because the chorus is in the G Mixolydian mode (so related to C major). The chords are G - F/G - C/G - F/G so when those first notes of the solo come in we're actually modulating to Em (which is related to G major) and that's why the segue into the darker minor solo feels so much more intense. Fantastic stuff ! To make matters complicated : the last two chorus chords before the solo are Bb (borrowed from G minor) and D (borrowed from G Ionian). After the solo we're back to G Mixolydian with that G5 to G7(no3rd) riff (and that's why I can use 4 different scales in my added fills : Gm and major pentatonic separately and combined and the G Mixolydian scale !) .Quite complicated harmonies and scales for a 'simple' rock song !

Doug possibly used a Les Paul for this but my James Tyler Dann Huff aka 'The Huffster' can go to bat with any other guitar they throw at it and still come out winning....this axe is just that good !!


Greetz,

P.


Doug Aldrich - best albums (in order of personal preference) :
1. Burning Rain - Burning rain
2. Burning Rain - Pleasure to burn
3. Bad Moon Rising - Bad moon rising
4. Bad Moon Rising - Blood
5. Lion - Trouble in angel city
6. Lion - Dangerous attraction
7. Lion - Power love

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